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and Ian rose from his chair beside the fire with a black scowl on his face. |
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"I will go down and tell him you are not well and I cannot receive him," Ian growled. "I could not prevent him from signing on to my party, but I do not have to receive him into my house." |
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FitzWalter was also no friend of Ian's, but there was a difference in Ian's feelings toward him and toward Vesci and his group. This was based largely upon an act of cowardice or treachery that had been instrumental in the loss of Normandy in 1203. FitzWalter and Saer de Quincy, his boon companion, had surrendered without a blow a key spot of defense of the province, the great fortress of Vaudreuil, to Philip of France. Thus they had opened the whole area to easy and uncontested conquest. FitzWalter had excused his act by saying he had appealed to the king and had received neither any help nor even any answer. |
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This was perfectly true. John had acknowledged the plea by paying FitzWalter's and de Quincy's ransoms and had not punished them in any way for yielding the castle. However, it did not mitigate the act in any way in Ian's eyes. Everyone knew that John was in one of his periods of lethargy. Had FitzWalter closed up the fortress and fought, it was entirely possible that John would have been aroused and come to his support. Even if the king had not wakened to action and the fortress had to yield in the end, the battle would have depleted the French forces or even delayed Philip so long that the change in season would have put an end to the fighting and saved the province. To Ian's mind, FitzWalter was guilty of either cowardice or treacheryand that was a far cry from Vesci's bold and open agitation against the king. Ian disagreed with Vesci, but he did not dislike him. |
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The firelight and the ruddy glow of the candles concealed the fact that the color had drained from Alinor's cheeks. "Wait," she said. "FitzWalter does not come |
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